It was announced today that four new Deputy Lieutenants have been appointed to assist the Lord Lieutenant with his duties on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen. The four are:

Andrew BLACKMAN Andrew lives in Fairlight, Hastings and is married to Richard. His background is in the Arts. Having previously worked with supporters’ groups at the National Gallery and Dulwich Picture Gallery he has used his experience locally to assist the Jerwood Gallery in Hastings and the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition. He is a trustee of the Peasmarsh Chamber Music Festival. Andrew is chairman of the Friends of Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve. He has been very involved with St Michael’s Hospice and with the current appeal at the Conquest Hospital for a new scanner. He is an ambassador for Sussex Community Foundation and is on the fabric committee of his parish church.

Timothy Michael (Tim) COBB Tim lives in Eastbourne with his wife Susan and their three sons. Tim is a public relations professional having set up a public relations company in 1995 which now employs 22 in Eastbourne and Brighton. He is very involved with the Sussex business community. Currently he is President of the Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce and he has established networking clubs in Brighton, Gatwick, Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne to encourage support for local suppliers and to offer support for local charities where he uses his PR/media skills to help the local community whenever he can.

Sarah Kowitz Sarah lives in Fairlight, Hasting with David her husband and her two children. Sarah is well known locally for her support right across the local community. In particular for her fund raising for voluntary and charity groups and for her work with education, the visual arts and the support of music performance in Hastings. She is an active Board member of Sussex’s newest art museum, the Jerwood and has commissioned sculpture in support of the town.

Christopher Whittick Christopher lives in Lewes. He is the County Archivist of East Sussex and has served with the County Council for 40 years. He is chairman of the Sussex Historic Churches Trust, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries and the Artworkers Guild. He regularly teaches palaeography and local history at the Universities of Sussex, London, Oxford, Cambridge and Keele, and has recently completed his catalogue of the Battle Abbey archive at the Huntington Library in Pasadena, California.

The Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, Mr Peter Field, attended a special investiture ceremony at the Town Hall in Eastbourne on Friday 21st October to award British Empire Medals (BEM) on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen to six worthy recipients from East Sussex.

Those receiving their BEM were:

Kenneth GARDNER (Brighton, East Sussex)
Co-Founder, Krazy Kat Theatre. For services to Children’s Theatre and Children with Physical Disabilities.

Speaking after the ceremony the Lord Lieutenant, Peter Field said “It is always a pleasure to recognise those who do so much in their fields of work or by volunteering to improve the lives of other in the County and further afield. These special individuals are recognised for a wide range of reasons but mainly to the devoted service they have given which only highlights the diversity in our County. I am so pleased they have been nationally recognised for their contribution”. The ceremony was hosted by the Mayor of Eastbourne, Cllr Pat Hearn. The Vice Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff were also in attendance.

At a ceremony in Brighton yesterday (22nd June) the Lord Lieutenant awarded British Empire Medals (BEM) to Mrs Marilyn Winifred NOLAN and Mrs Jean Margaret OLNEY for their outstanding public service to the community in Newhaven and in Mayfield. If you know someone who should be considered for a national honour follow this link https://www.gov.uk/honours

Congratulations to the following voluntary groups from East Sussex have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.

Brighton & Hove Impetus Neighbourhood Care Scheme

De Etchingham Community Interest Company (CIC)

Friends of Sussex Hospices

Pett Older People’s Project

The Conservators of Ashdown Forest

They are one of 193 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The number of awards given to groups this year is slightly higher than last year, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to tackle community challenges.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work in their communities. The awards were created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and winners are announced each year on 2 June – the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.

Each group will receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex later this summer.

Do you know of a volunteer group that devotes it’s time to helping others in your local area and deserves a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service?

Any group of two or more people that has participated in voluntary work for more than three years can be nominated for the award. Full details on how to nominate are available at http://qavs.direct.gov.uk/

This coming week sees us all remembering the bravery of our armed forces and in particular those who gave their lives in the defence of our country and freedom. On Sunday 8th November the Lord Lieutenant will be attending the service at the Brighton War Memorial and later at the Ajex Service in Hove. Deputy Lieutenants will be present at services in Lewes, Newhaven, Ringmer, and Seaford. They will be a service near to you, please consider showing your support.

The annual Awards Ceremony for the Sussex Historic Churches Trust ‘Ride and Stride’ sponsorship competition was held at St Nicolas Church Pevensey last Saturday.

Peter Field, Lord-Lieutenant of East Sussex and co-president of the Trust, presented the prizes at the ceremony attended by over 100 people in the medieval church which celebrates its 800th anniversary next year. Trophies to both cyclists and walkers were given for Individual, Team and Under-16 entries.

Since 1956 the Trust has raised almost £2million. A Special Award was given to Pamela Lade from St John the Evangelist, Eastbourne who raised over £1,400. This is the fifth year running that Pamela has received the Special Award trophy. In total competitors raised £55,000 in 2014.

Ride & Stride is an annual sponsored event which includes all the places of worship in Sussex. There is no fixed route, which encourages participants to visit churches and chapels and to explore parts of Sussex that they may not normally see.

Ride and Stride is an event for all ages – families are welcome to take part as well as individuals. Everyone who takes part will be raising much needed funds which assist in the repair and maintenance of historic churches, allowing their beauty to be appreciated by future generations. St. Nicolas, Pevensey, which is on English Heritage’s ‘At Risk Register’, is seeking to raise over £200,000 to complete a restoration project begun in 2006.

The Lord Lieutenant attended a special investiture ceremony at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton yesterday (23rd October 2014) to award British Empire Medals (BEM) on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen to three very special County volunteers

Those receiving their BEM were:

Mrs Elaine Evans of Brighton and HoveFor services to the Arts in East Sussex

Mr Ian Porter of HastingsFor services to Heritage and to the community in Hastings Old Town, East Sussex.

Mr Philip Wadey of HastingsFor voluntary service to First Aid in East Sussex

Speaking after the ceremony the Lord Lieutenant, Peter Field said “It is always a pleasure to recognise volunteers who do so much for our City and County. These are three special individuals who have given many years devoted service to our County and I am so pleased they have been nationally recognised for their contribution”

The ceremony was also attended by family and friends of the medallists. Deputy Lieutenants from across the County read out the citations and the afternoon concluded with a special tour of the Royal Pavilion.

The photo show all three recipients with the Lord Lieutenant and Deputy Lieutenants – From left they are: Michael Rudman DL, Julian Avery DL, Philip Wadey, Elaine Evans, Lord Lieutenant, Ian Porter and Graham Peters DL.

On Monday the 9th June 2014, 20 teenagers accompanied by their families and friends met in the Clarence Suite of the Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel for the Rotary Club of Brighton’s annual “Rotary Young Citizen Awards” ceremony. The certificates were presented by the Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, Mr Peter Field. It was a relaxed and very enjoyable occasion for all and much credit goes to Rotarian Lorna Duggleby, who devised the awards criteria and persuaded schools to take part at a busy time for all concerned. Rotarian Alan Pocock also provided invaluable support by producing with very professional certificates and programmes.

The Lord Lieutenant said “I want to congratulate the Brighton Rotary Club for initiating and organising these awards which recognise young people who are putting a lot of time into supporting the local community in a variety of ways. They are setting an excellent example of what good citizenship is all about”.

The awards were clearly very much appreciated by the recipients, their parents, friends and teachers. Some of the recipients gave short presentations about the activities that had resulted in their nominations and impressed everyone present. The Rotary Club of Brighton, whose motto is “Service above Self”, has always been very keen to encourage and recognise young people who devote some of their time to worthwhile causes in the community, and is already planning next year’s awards event.”

On the 14th December 2013 the Lord Lieutenant attended the thriving Newhaven Market in High Street, Newhaven and was greeted by the Mrs Ann Lorys the President of Newhaven Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of Newhaven. He visited all of the stalls and spent time talking to the stall holders and customers. To find out about the Chamber follow this link.

The Lieutenancy in East Sussex

You and your community group, be it association, charity, club or specific interest group can learn all about the Lieutenancy in East Sussex, its history, what it does and what it can do for you. Make contact through Lieutenancy in the Community. You will find the link in this site. Our Deputy Lieutenants are happy to come and give a presentation by arrangement. Topics typically covered are the history of the Lieutenancy, Queen’s Awards, Honours, and community support,

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Lord Lieutenant Message

East Sussex is a beautiful County with a rich history. Its citizens are friendly and welcoming, but we do have areas of deprivation and we all need support from time to time. If you live in our County, whether it be in the city and urban environment or in a rural area I would like to urge you to get involved, by volunteering if you can or by taking an active part in whatever way is appropriate for you to enhance both our environment and the lives of those who live in it.